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Catherine Mayo shipped to nut farm
 A woman whose actions aboard a London-to-Washington flight provoked a security scare will be held indefinitely at a residential mental health facility in New Hampshire, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
| "Here ya go, lady! A nice, comfy rubber room!" |
Catherine Mayo, 59, of Braintree, Vt., has been in federal custody since Aug. 17, when United Flight 923 was diverted to Boston after Mayo urinated on the floor of the cabin and made statements that the pilot and crew believed were references to al-Qaida and the Sept. 11 attacks.
"Captain! There's a lady out here peeing on the floor and muttering stuff about al-Qaeda!"
"Okay, Harriet! I've armed the net."
"We'll try and herd her into it!" |
| We in the medical profession prefer the Haldol™ tear-gas cannisters ... |
At a hearing Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Timothy Hillman agreed with a defense request that Mayo be taken to the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., and be put in the official custody of her 31-year-old son. Mayo waived her right to a probable cause hearing on a charge of interfering with a flight crew. Her attorney, public defender Page Kelley, has said Mayo has a long history of mental illness.
"Yer honor, my client's a nut! She can't be held responsible for her actions!"
"Uhuh. And how long has she been a nut?"
"'Bout as long as she can remember!"
"And how long's that? At least."
"Ummm... About a half hour." |
Mayo said little during the hearing and did not audibly answer when the judge asked "Ms. Mayo, how are you today?"
| "Like, wow man! Listen to the colors!" |
During a break, as her lawyer was explaining the conditions of her detention, Mayo repeatedly interrupted her and said: "I did not commit any criminal act. I am not responsible for the federal government arresting me."
| "Ain't no law against peeing on the floor! You show me in the law books where there's a law against peeing on the floor! And I had nothin' to do with the gummint arresting me! I wudn't even there!" |
Mayo was to be held at the facility until her doctors determine it is safe for her to leave. At that time, her travel would be restricted to New Hampshire, her home state of Vermont and Massachusetts, if she has meetings with her lawyer. She would be subject to arrest if she leaves the center before treatment is finished.
"You're not allowed to go to Connecticut, Ms. Mayo! Sorry!"
"Open the toll gate or I squat!" |
The scare on the flight from Heathrow to Washington's Dulles airport came just a week after London authorities said they foiled a terror plot to blow up trans-Atlantic flights. Federal officials have said they have no indications that Mayo had any links to terrorism. Joshua Mayo has described his mother as a peace activist and said she had been returning from several months in Pakistan when she was arrested. He said she has traveled there often since making a pen pal before Sept. 11, 2001.
| Important safety tip here: Recreational pharmaceuticals and Lahore just don't mix. |
Posted by: Fred 2006-09-06 |
